While the Nationals' front office (and media corps) was hunkered down at Nationals Park last night into the wee hours for the Bryce Harper deadline, the actual big-league squad was already comfortably settled into its hotel in Atlanta. I'm sure those guys were interested to find out whether Harper signed or not, but I'm also pretty sure they weren't glued to their laptops at midnight in anticipation of the answer.

Many of the current Nationals won't be around by the time Harper makes his big-league debut, so they're more interested in what's happening right now, which is the start of a tough, six-game road trip through Atlanta and Philadelphia. These are the top two teams in the NL East, and until the Nats prove they can hold their own against them, they won't take that key step up and become a division contender.

Scott Olsen starts tonight, hoping to bounce back after two ragged outings against the Diamondbacks and Marlins. He faced the Braves once earlier this season, and it was a good one: On May 6, Olsen carried a no-hitter into the eighth against Atlanta.

He'll be opposed tonight by rookie left-hander Mike Minor, the seventh-overall pick of last summer's draft (six spots behind Stephen Strasburg, three spots ahead of Drew Storen). Minor made his big-league debut last week against the Astros and allowed three earned runs over six innings.

Josh Willingham is not in the lineup tonight; Kevin Mench will get his first start in left field. Mench's time, though, could be running out. Nyjer Morgan is with Harrisburg tonight for his third rehab game, and he's expected to come off the DL tomorrow, which means someone has to come off the roster.

I'm not in Atlanta for this series, but I will be in Philadelphia this weekend. Enjoy the game tonight and please continue to chat with each other!…

"These are the top two teams in the NL East, and until the Nats prove they can hold their own against them, they won't take that key step up and become a division contender."Hey… did you forget that the LAST TIME we played these "top two teams," we WON each series 2-1??? And, oh yes, Strasburg didn't pitch that week.Keep this up, and you'll be referred to as "the infamous Mark Zuckerman."

With Harper getting a Major-league contract, there are now 48 players on the Nationals' 40-man roster. This is just some early speculation on where the cuts will occur… 1) Kevin Mench (LF-RF-PH) – As Mark Z. noted, on borrowed time; Could be DFA'd before the end of the season. 2) Willie Harris (UTIL) – Contract expires at end of season = Bub-bye. 3) Jamie Burke (CA) – Approaching 40, will probably retire at end of season. 4) Tyler Walker (RHRP) – 34yo, coming off 2nd shoulder surgery. 5) Carlos Maldonado (CA) – Contract expires at end of season; Possible Minor-league re-sign in off season. 6) Jesus Flores (CA) – Arb-eligible, but Ankle & Shoulder injuries have wrecked him; Most likely a non-tender for 2011. 7) Ryan Mattheus (RHSP) – Bouncing back very slowly from surgery; Another probably non-tender in 2011. Miguel Batista (RHRP) – Expiring contract, turns 40 in February; So long, and thanks for Miss Iowa.

Never fear – this lineup now features Wil Nieves. 5-9 are now pretty much close to automatic outs. The Nats got screwed with Pudge getting tossed. Funny how the umps will never ask for help when we ask them to…

It's totally Riggleman's fault for not partaking more fully of Morse during the month in which he was the flavor. Even a first grader knows that you eat the whole cone when it's given to you, because if you try to hoard it it ends up melting on you.

I figured Olson just couldn't keep it up forever. How can you get 15 of 17 batters out in 5 innings, and not get even 1 of 3 the very next inning?Sometimes (at least in the case of Olsen here) you have to give a little credit to the hitters . . . Infante's hitting .343 . . .

That's two games now when Stammen has come in to a difficult situation in relief. He almost pulled this one off as well.I'm with Mark: he has to wonder why he is not getting another shot in the rotation.

@Manassas I went to a camp run by Charlie Lau on hitting.He said that in every confrontation the pitcher starts with the advantage. The batter take the advantage only if he hits what the pitcher gives him. In other words he said if it is pitched on the outside /13 of the plate go to the opposite field. Inner 1/3 pull it, and the middle 1/3 drive it up the middle. If you do that the batter will hit .350 to .400. The problem most batters have is they try to pull balls outside. Di that and you will bat about .100. The pitchers know you will try and pull most balls, that is why they like to stay outside. The hitters make the pitchers good.In this case Olson hung pitches over the middle of the plate ro inner third and were driven hard. the batter did what he was suppose to do. The pitcher gave the batter control.Lau always said that who ever controlled the game would win. Olson controlled the game until the 6th, then the batters took over. To get the control back Olson needed to pitch to the outside again, which he didn't do after the homer. That was a great camp I went to. Of course my eyesight was never quite good enough to see pitches a few years later, but I understood the game so much better.Batters of today could use a hitting coach like him. Most do not understand the theory of control.

@Anon 10:17The crappy defense is an issue (though he isn't as bad at first as he was in the outfield and what's more he is improving). However, strikeouts have long been acknowledged to not be as damaging to a team's offense as we used to think. It doesn't advance runners, but neither does a strikeout lead to a DP (the result that really kills an inning). I just checked his stats (don't know if they include tonight's results) and his OPS is 0.921, good for fifth in the NL. The man is an offensive force, strikeouts or not.

@Anon 10:36"put pitches"? Did you mean "out pitches"? (I'm not making fun of you – I'm honestly not sure).But if that is what you meant, all I can say is – Wow. Are you in a negative mood tonight or what? Are you also Anon 10:17? Who peed in your coffee this morning?I thought we were only allowed to gripe about Riggleman and Rizzo on this site.

I'm one of those fans who has wanted the Nats to re-sign Adam Dunn. I note the last 9 games have been a nightmare for him and not too good for the Nats, either, despite Zimm's best efforts. As I read it, Adam is 5 for 35 with a homer and an RBI the last 9 games. The week before that he was unbelievably good. From mid-September last year through at least mid April this year, he struggled, too. Then dynamite — until the last 9 games. That's why they do averages.

Anonymous@10:06 Wow! I can't remember the last time I heard Charlie Lau's name mentioned. For a time there he was the most in-demand hitting coach in the bigs and his book on hitting was very popular. He was highly respected.He was a catcher for several teams. I remember him mostly as an Oriole, where he had his best years and did two stints. I actually saw Lau play in 1967 with the Atlanta Braves. It was his last season as a player.

Habsprof,I was Anon @ 10:17 and I really was in a crappy mood last night. That throw by Dunn really set me off.But you are right; overall Dunn has a 3.5 WOR translating into about 5 extra wins for the team which is really excellent ans is worth the 13 to 14 mil a year he is looking for. The defense is just something that will come with the territory; I don't think he,ll ever be Texiera or even Nick Johnson at 1st base.